In the news: your weekly round-up

Top stories

First schools in England to offer free breakfast clubs announced. The government has confirmed the first 750 schools to offer the scheme, which will start in April and provide at least 30 minutes of free childcare before school [GOV.UK].

As the scheme hasn’t been rolled out to all schools yet, understand the current rights and expectations around providing a school breakfast club here.

Almost a third of pupils refused to go to school in the past year, according to a new parent poll. The most common reasons cited were not enjoying school, mental health problems, having a special educational need or disability (SEND), and bullying [Tes Magazine - subscription required].

Use our article to help monitor pupils' mental health and wellbeing, and get an overview of the tools you can use, both at an individual and whole-school level.

National offer day for secondary school places is approaching. Pupils due to start year 7 in September will find out about school places on Monday 3 March, with parents/carers having the right to appeal these decisions [BBC News].

Be clear on how to handle appeals and get details on how the full appeals process works.

This week's headlines

• Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is seeking 1,500 schools for research trials on improving outcomes [Schools Week]
• “Reset” SEND funding to allow schools to meet local needs, Confederation of School Trusts (CST) argues [Tes Magazine - subscription required]
• Action needed on “rising threat of violence” in schools, says teachers’ union NASUWT
• Teacher vacancies in alternative provision not reflected correctly in government statistics, new research suggests
• Additional £740m SEND funding isn’t enough to tackle the key issues, MPs warned

Upcoming dates

Monday 3 March – National offer day for secondary schools

Tuesday 4 March – Shrove Tuesday

Wednesday 5 March – Ash Wednesday

Thursday 6 March – World Book Day

Saturday 8 March – International Women’s Day

Get your weekly reminder

Sign up to the news briefing email